In March, the Spartans’ Thoughts Turn to Winning

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo has a 7-2 record in the N.C.A.A. tournament's Round of 16.Credit
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

PHOENIX — Last week, Coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans advanced to the regional semifinals of the N.C.A.A. tournament. That is almost the same as saying there is an N.C.A.A. tournament. Izzo’s teams so often find themselves among the final 16, he should have his own region: East, South, West and Izzo.

The Spartans not only have made the tournament in each of the past 15 seasons, but also have won at least two games in 10 of them, second only to Duke. And Izzo holds a 7-2 record in Round of 16 games, which means his teams often own March the way Reggie Jackson once owned October. As Izzo said recently: “March has been good to me. I love March.”

Izzo’s latest team seemed an unlikely candidate to continue the tradition. These Spartans started the season unranked, opened with losses to North Carolina and Duke and later lost the promising freshman Branden Dawson to a knee injury. Yet here they are, seeded first in the West Region, set to face fourth-seeded Louisville (28-9) here on Thursday, two wins from another Final Four.

“I thought this would be a rebuilding season,” said Steve Mariucci, Izzo’s best friend and an NFL Network analyst. “Shows what I know. This could be the best coaching job he’s ever done.”

Sometimes, Mariucci finds himself watching Izzo rather than the action on the court. What separates Izzo from others, “from coaches in all sports,” Mariucci said, is the way he works the sideline. Mariucci ventured that Izzo burns “3,000 calories” each game, his instructions not limited to players, but also given to assistant coaches, trainers, everyone on the staff. Izzo’s players, Mariucci said, learn as much during games as they do in practice.

That is but one factor in Izzo’s and Michigan State’s continued late-season success. And while Izzo’s teams tend to play better once the calendar flips to March, the process, the way his teams evolve, actually begins early in the season, with a schedule annually ranked among the most difficult in the nation. This year, in November alone, the Spartans played North Carolina, Duke and Florida State, an important experience for a team as green as the jerseys on the players’ backs.

Izzo prepared this team much the same as he prepared its predecessors, including a huge dose of film study. Mateen Cleaves, the point guard who led Michigan State to the national title in 2000, said he always felt bad for the assistant coaches, who watched so much tape “they never sleep, especially during the tournament.”

Cleaves believes part of Izzo’s success in March stems from his ability to dissect film and make the necessary changes quickly. Cleaves said the Spartans watched film most mornings during the tournament, physically walked through opponents’ plays, and watched film again at night and again before the game.

For each opponent, Cleaves said he viewed “way more” than two hours of tape. The study paid off in particular against Florida in the 2000 national title game, when the Spartans attacked the Gators’ vaunted press, inbounding the ball quickly, forcing it up the court, dictating the pace.

Izzo compounded these technical breakdowns with a variety of speeches. Before the final, he spoke with tears in his eyes.

“He’s the best motivator I’ve been around,” Cleaves said. “And he got a little more intense with it each March.”

Friends say Izzo’s personality takes on an added layer of intensity and focus this time of year. He is known to have players conduct rebounding drills in football pads, another reason his record stands at 17-3 on the second game of any weekend in an N.C.A.A. tournament.

In that regard, Izzo reminds Mariucci of a football coach, which Mariucci was himself. He watched Izzo script offensive plays for early in the game, like football coaches, watched the way Izzo cut up film and presented it to his team.

“It’s very much the way a football coach would do it,” Mariucci said. “That’s another reason his teams do well in March. They’re real tough-minded. That’s the way he coaches. That’s what he demands. They play football on the basketball court.”

While Izzo rarely varies his approach, his teams play a variety of styles. In this tournament alone, the Spartans (29-7) battered Long Island University, slogged through a victory against St. Louis, then prepared for the frenetic pace of Louisville.

Mariucci saw a graphic this season that noted that Ohio State had nine players in the N.B.A., Michigan State only three. Senior forward Draymond Green is a perfect example of the way Izzo develops players. He struggled early, weighing 268 pounds, and clashed with Izzo only to ultimately buy in. Now he ranks among Izzo’s favorites. Izzo even had Cleaves and Magic Johnson, another M.S.U. alum, call Green with advice.

“He is a Coach Izzo-type player, this is a Coach Izzo-type team,” Cleaves said. “I don’t compare them to our team much, but they’re in the running, same as we were, same as Magic was. What we all have in common is we’re a bunch of guys who don’t care about statistics. We’re Izzo’s guys.”

In three previous tournaments as a No. 1 seed, Michigan State advanced to at least the national semifinals each time. It won the tournament in 2000. That helped to build Izzo’s résumé, and another title would cement it among the greatest of his era.

“I’ve always said I’m a blue-collar guy, and I belong to a blue-collar university, and I’m damn proud of it, I really am,” Izzo said. “That’s what I’ve been. One A.D. called me a program guy. And you know what? I’m proud of that, too.”

A version of this article appears in print on March 22, 2012, on page B16 of the New York edition with the headline: The Spartans Are Made for March. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe